July 02nd, 2018

July 2, 2018
 
              “One nation under God.” As we celebrate Independence Day this week, we need not only to honor the day for what it is beyond fireworks and picnics but also to honor the Christian origins of our country.
              Freedom of religion is a very important part of democracy and should not be taken lightly. Respecting the rights of all citizens to their own faith should be something that every American citizen does.
              However, recent trends have championed the erroneous idea that respecting others’ choice of religion means denying the Christian belief which was such a strong part of the creation of our nation. It is almost as if bringing up the faith which underlies the whole idea of a nation based on individual “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is wrong.
              The truth is that such a nation would never have been created under the rule of the other world religions, all of which subjugate the individual to the “state” or separate the individual completely. The Christian background of our forefathers -- evident in writings from all of them contrary to the words of those who would label them “deists” – led them to create a nation which sees the individual as more important than the “state,” in fact the controller of the country.
              How thankful we should be that Christian concepts of loving God, oneself and others are essential to our country! We should celebrate the fact instead of trying to hide it or explain it away. And we should heed the warnings of citizens like George Washington, who made it clear that the nation could not exist without Christian faith.
“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” “Your love of liberty – your respect for the laws – your habits of industry – and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness.”
Happy Birthday, America! -- Always One Nation under God!